No end to commuters' woes

No end to commuters' woes

The Hindu

The problem of flooding on Mysore Road is yet to be tackled

# Work on widening storm water drain progressing at a snail's pace
# Travel on Mysore Road is a pain when it rains


BANGALORE: The woes of people using Mysore Road appear to be never ending. The problem of flooding at two major intersections — near Rajarajeshwari Arch and the Outer Ring Road (ORR) — Mysore Road Junction continues to trouble the people.

A month after Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP) Commissioner K. Jairaj ordered widening of the storm water drain between Rajarajeshwari Arch and Jnana Bharati Gate, the work on it is progressing at a snail's pace. The entire stretch was under knee-deep water for more than two days when it rained in October last, and a similar situation prevailed when rain lashed the city on Monday night.

The drain carries the outflow from Nayandahalli Lake along with industrial effluents.

As it is, the stretch is in a bad shape and the condition worsens when it rains.

A sort of an artificial lake is formed on the busy Mysore Road putting road-users to a lot of inconvenience.

After the remodelling of the drain was ordered, the contractor removed the stone slabs and size stones from the drain and cleared the silt.

However, all this was dumped right on Mysore Road (towards the city) eating up a quarter of the road space. Negotiating this particular stretch during peak hours is a harrowing experience.

The ORR-Mysore Road junction near Nayandahalli was flooded following heavy rain on Monday night.

The Chief Minister himself was a victim of the flooding some time last month on this stretch.

Civil engineering experts attribute it to "faulty" construction of the bridge on Vrishabhavathi that connects the ORR and Mysore Road.

Rainwater flows at great speed due to the steep gradient of the Vrishabhavathi valley bringing along with it tonnes of debris dumped by unscrupulous elements.

The debris get collected in the small vent beneath the bridge causing flooding, the experts note. This, in turn, floods the Mysore Road and also leaves heaps of debris on the road once the water recedes.

The BMP Commissioner had felt that the problem could be solved by increasing the height of Mysore Road. However, no follow-up action has been taken so far.

On the other hand, experts feel that unless the bridge is reconstructed leaving adequate vent for free flow of water, the problem could not be addressed.

They also said excavation of the valley bed under the bridge, as suggested by some, was also not possible as it would affect the piers of the bridge.

Raising the height, they feel, would compound the flood-related woes in the area.

Mr. Jairaj told The Hindu that a permanent solution to these problems would be in place by December.